Trapped in a Feudal Fairy Tale
by Nox Silverlight
Summary: A young girl struggles with the dilemma of being trapped in the feudal era and being torn away from everyone she's ever know and been connected to while she helps Kagome and her friends collect jewel shards. Stress and worries at her predicament keep her awake at night, and what else is there to do than to talk to the only person that remains awake just as long as she does? InuXOC
1. Chapter 1 - Arrival

"Here ye are," A kindly old woman smiled as reassuringly as she could manage as she set a steaming cup of tea in front the flustered girl that sat at across from her in her hut. She had her eyes firmly locked on her hands that were rolled into fists gripping the edge of her green skirt. The graying woman sighed at the young girl's troubled state, though she couldn't blame the child. "Through the tree, ye said?" she asked again, making sure she understood the story she had told her before. The girl nodded, but didn't say any more than she had earlier.

From what the haggard priestess had managed to coax out of the otherworldly girl, she had been with her friend from school, who she had gathered to be Kagome, and had been visiting her home to work on something together. They had decided to work outside and Kagome had gone in the house for a moment so she waited next to the tree the old woman had understood was the sacred tree InuYasha had been bound to. She had gone closer to the tree to examine it, as her own family had a shrine dedicated to many sacred plants and trees, and tripped. Instead of hitting her head against the trunk, she had apparently fallen through the wood and into 'that freaky guy with the dog ears.'

"I'm sorry, Kaede-sama," the girl sighed, her shoulders slumping as she hung her head, "I'm just so confused about everything that's happening. I just don't understand how I could really be in feudal Japan. It doesn't make any since."

The old woman chuckled to herself, "Ye are taking it better than Kagome did, at least. She kept insisting it be a dream." She took a long, hardy drink from her own tea then explained, "Ye be here because the tree ye had fallen through has been standing for centuries. It be linked to your time through the ages it has survived from this world and on through to ye own. Only I don't know how ye fell through."

"But how does Kagome come back then if she doesn't do it through the tree?" the girl became slightly panicked at the idea of being stuck in a world she was so unfamiliar with.

"She uses the Bone Eaters Well," the sagely woman explained, "It be made from the wood of another Tree of Ages and connects to ye time the same way the tree does."

"Seika!" Another girl dressed in the same green school uniform as the brunette in front of Kaede cried as she came through the door of the hut. "Oh my god, I was so worried! I came back outside and you were gone," she sat down beside her school mate and hugged her. "InuYasha said you came out of the tree," she half questioned, half stated as she sat back.

"InuYasha?" Seika mumbled to herself in mild confusion before the strange silver-haired man she had fallen on top of in her arrival walked through the door and threw himself down on the floor in an irritated huff. "That's his name?"

"Seika," Kagome called, drawing her attention back to her statement, "Is that what happened?"

Seika scratched at her long chocolate locks, "Uh, yeah, I don't really understand it."

"Didn't your mom and grandma always say the women in your family were something called earth witches or something?" she asked while rummaging through the bag she had brought with her.

"Well, yeah," she shrugged to herself, "And we have a lot of sacred plants and what not around our family shrine, like you do, but it's not like its true or any-" Kagome thrust an old yellowed letter along with a fresher one in the girls face, interrupting her, "What's this?"

"I freaked out when you disappeared so the first place I went to was your house," the girl explained as she accepted a cup of tea from the elderly woman, "When I explained that I couldn't find you to your mom, she gave me those and said I'd find you in the past. I didn't understand what she meant until InuYasha showed up and said there was someone that was dressed like me here. I guess they say what's supposed to be going on. Your mom was really calm when I told her you were missing, and a little sad. I think she knew something like this was going to happen."

Seika stared at the letters in her hands with serious green eyes full of anxiety. She couldn't say how she knew, but neither of them bore good news. With a deep breath, she opened the newer envelope, assuming it was from her mother.

_'My Dear Seika,_

_I know you must be terribly confused and afraid right now, but don't worry. You are a strong young woman and I know you will do great things with your life. I wish we had more time together, but I know you're ready for what's to come._

_I'm sorry I didn't tell you about this sooner, you simply wouldn't have understood if I had. I didn't believe it when my mother told me, not until I was older and began to see the things you could do. I'm so sorry._

_Just know that I love you very much, and I am so proud of you!_

_Love always,_

_Your Mother.'_

"This sounds like a goodbye letter," she whispered and her heart sank as she let her eyes run over her mother's curly script again. She took a deep breath, tears beginning to sting the corners of her eyes, and tore her attention from her mother's letter in begrudging favor for the old tattered document, taking care while opening it for fear of tearing it.

_'I have woken in the night from a wondrous dream. There is to be a magnificent happening some time from now._

_The world will have changed dramatically from what it is now, but my family will strive on, strong and ever a part of the earth._

_There will be a young girl from this strange new world that will return to these times and do wondrous things._

_She will help to make whole a precious shattered gem and bring happiness to a many people with her overwhelmingly powerful gifts from the earth in her life time._

_I am convinced this is not simply a dream. I write this in hopes that the day this young girl is birthed to this world, she will believe this story with my help._

_Know that whoever you are, you are immensely powerful in so many ways._

_May your ancestors watch over and guide you.'_

Seika stared at the paper a moment longer before quietly setting it on the table. Kagome looked at her expectantly, waiting to hear what the letters said. Instead, she watched as her usually calm and collected friend let out a shuttered breath, followed shortly by large tears. "Seika? What did they say?" Kagome asked with concern. Surely it couldn't be that bad.

"I'm stuck here," she choked and sobbed into her sleeves, "I don't think I can leave." The girl buried her face in her arms and wept. Kagome noticed InuYasha's subtle escape as she consoled her distraught friend and shook her head. He couldn't even be around a crying woman when he barely knew them. "I don't understand. Why is this happening?"

* * *

A/N: For anyone that may recognize some similarities between this and story called 'The Moment a Man's World Stands Still', this is the beginning of that story, the events that lead up to InuYasha and Seika getting to the point that is that oneshot, and the events that occur after.

Like always, updates will not be consistent but I've been working on this one pretty steadily, so hopefully you guys won't have to wait long between chapters. I'll just have to work harder on not updating too frequently so that I'll have something to post when it's actually time to post something XD

I would like to take this opportunity to ask that no one label Seika as a Mary Sue just yet and think she's only going to replace Kagome in the story, because that's not the case at all. Just, please, give Seika the chance to show you that she is her own person and that she's more than just a knock off Kagome.

Let me know what you think so I can get a better idea of what direction to head in.

Love, peace, and chicken grease!

~Nox


	2. Chapter 2 - Breaking Rules

"It'll be alright, Seika," Kagome murmured to the distraught girl, "It's not that bad in this time, really. There are a lot of great people here. I'll introduce you to them when they get back from their trip. And InuYasha is here, too. He's not so bad. Sometimes he can even be kind of nice."

"I Heard That!" a decidedly male voice yelled from just outside the hut. Of course he'd still be in earshot despite being so uncomfortable around a crying woman.

Kagome rolled her eyes but otherwise ignored him. "Come on, Seika, try not to be so sad. Maybe you're wrong. I can come and go after all, maybe you can, too." She knew she was grasping at straws but she didn't know what else to do. She remembered the first time she had ended up in the feudal era and how she felt when she thought she was stuck. Her heart ached for her friend.

The girl sat up with watery green orbs reflecting the sorrow that pervaded her heart, "I don't think so. It says I'm supposed to bring happiness to many people in my life. I don't think I'm going home again, Kagome." She sounded utterly defeated.

The young priestess sighed. "It's really not that bad here," she offered again, receiving only a more broken expression from her friend. She had nothing else to tell her. She had been so relieved to find out she could come and go as she pleased. She had no idea what it must feel like to know you were completely cut off from almost everyone you had ever known.

"Sleep on it, child," the old woman hummed in a soothing voice, "The burdens of today will not seem so heavy after a good night's sleep."

She nodded mechanically to the aged priestess. Tucking the letters away in their respective envelopes, she took a courteous sip of tea, remembering her manners as a respectful guest, before heading off to the bed Kaede had prepared for her earlier.

Seika curled into a ball on her side, wrapping her blanket tight around her, the only form of comfort that was familiar to her at the moment. She'd never see her mother or grandmother again. She'd never have a real home again. In this world, she was an orphan, suddenly without a single precious thing from her own time. Sure, Kagome would probably be willing to bring her anything she asked for from home, but she'd never be able to bring her mother or anything else that truly mattered now.

In that moment, Seika felt more alone than she ever had in her life, and she fell asleep with tears drying on her cheeks.

Sunlight shined into the little hut from the door and windows, filling the home with the warmth of the morning. Seika peeked out from under her blanket, sleep still heavy on her eyes. As much as she had wished for it, yesterday's incident did not just end up being a cruel dream. Kaede was right about sleeping on the subject, however. She was nowhere near happy, but she did feel a little lighter than the night before. It would not be an easy day for her.

She stretched and yawned quietly before crawling out from under her source of comfort and folding her sleeping mat up to place it in the corner of the room where it would be out of the way. She shuffled into the front room of the hut where Kagome and Kaede were already seated to breakfast. Seika sat down quietly and sipped at the tea that was offered to her.

"How do you feel?" Kagome asked tenderly, knowing there couldn't have been much improvement from yesterday.

"Better," Seika mumbled, "Not good, but better." She pushed the food in front of her around without really eating any of it, her appetite having vanished rapidly since the 'incident' yesterday. "I was thinking of writing a letter back to my mom," she said quietly, "Would you mind taking it to her?"

"Not at all!" Kagome exclaimed, happy to be able to do something that would make her feel better. She quickly dug through her bag for her spare notebook and pen, sliding them across the table to her. "I need to head back for some other things anyway."

"Thanks," she muttered again before she started writing. She didn't like the idea of using Kagome as a messenger bird, but she needed closure, and if she was feeling this lost, her mother had to be beside herself. She needed to let her know that she didn't blame her for not telling her what was going to happen. She needed to tell her to make sure to walk her dog, Shinji, every day and to water the plants when it started to get too hot and that she had to use a certain type of soy sauce for grandma. She rubbed at her eyes when the words started blurring on the page. Her mother was so scatter brained some times. "How will she survive without me?" she sniffled and tried to gather her bearings.

She suddenly realized she was alone and was grateful the two had given her some privacy to write her letter. The last thing she wanted was for Kagome to feel like she had to comfort her again. Taking a deep breath, she fought through her tears and finished her letter.

When Kagome had come back a while later, she found Seika still sitting at the table staring at the folded up pages from her notebook she had used. "Do you want me to bring anything back for you?" She asked quietly.

"No," she sighed after a moment then handed the note to her friend. "Just give this to my mom, please."

Kagome nodded and put the letter in her bag. "My friends should be back sometime today," she said brightly, trying to change to a happier subject. "InuYasha probably won't introduce them to you, but Kaede should. They're really nice; I think you'll like them." She received a solemn nod in response. "You shouldn't stay inside all day," she said, "Try taking a walk around the village. The fresh air may make you feel better." She waived from the door way as she made her way back to the Bone Eater's Well and Seika was alone again.

Ever paranoid, InuYasha followed Kagome to the well in case of any sudden attacks. He soon regretted the decision when Kagome launched into a lecture about him being nice to her friend. "I don't care if you don't like her or just don't care about what's happening to her. She's having a hard time with all of this right now, so be nice!"

She stopped at the well and turned back to him, waiving a menacing finger in his face, "If I find out you've made her cry more than she already has, I'll make you pay."

And the hanyou knew she wasn't lying. Despite the threat, he barked back, "Why do you always accuse me? I haven't even said anything to her yet!" He was aware nothing he said would make her situation any better than it was now – in fact he was fairly certain that if she was anything like Kagome was when she first showed up, everything he said would be taken as a verbal attack – so he chose the easiest option and kept his mouth shut when he was around her.

"That's probably best," Kagome huffed back before jumping down the well.

"SHADDAP!" He yelled down the well at her in true InuYasha fashion, sure she was probably already in her own time and didn't hear him.

She really wasn't in any mood to do anything at the moment, let alone go for a walk around the village she was now trapped in, but Seika knew Kagome was right. She didn't need to stay inside any more than she already had, all it did was give her more time to think about her pitiful situation and make her feel worse. Either way she was going to end up more miserable, so she might as well familiarize herself with the area she'd be in from now on.

She figured the villagers were used to seeing Kagome enough that they wouldn't stare at her, but apparently having the same school uniform only made her stand out more when they realized she wasn't who they thought she was.

Desperate to get away from prying eyes, she traced her way back to the tree that had become her doorway into the feudal era. A pang of hope sparked in her heart when she remembered Kagome saying she may be able to transcend time like she did. Climbing the large roots, taking note they weren't nearly this difficult to climb from her own era, she held her breath as she brought her hand up to the bare spot in the bark, just as she had done the first time.

Her hand connected solidly with the bare wood of the tree, refusing to give at all. The spark she had diminished, the finality of her prison resonating almost painfully throughout her entire body. She looked up to the sky that peaked through the canopy above her, wishing for not a way out, but for the strength to carry on a life in the time she was now a part of.

She sighed and rested her forehead against the tree. "You brought me here for a reason," she mumbled to the tree, resorting to her stress-induced habit of speaking to the plants around her, "I hope you know what you're doing, tree."

"Are you stupid or something?"

Seika turned around and saw InuYasha standing a few yards away with his hands in his sleeves giving her a strange look. Suddenly a look of mild horror crossed his features as he realized his 'don't say anything stupid' rule had been broken, before it disappeared again as quickly as it came. "I talk to plants," she said bluntly, "I always have. It calms me down."

He seemed to fight against himself for a moment before blurting out, "That's stupid."

She looked down at the roots under her feet, causing InuYasha to panic slightly at the realization that he might have just broken the one rule Kagome had given him. She looked back up at him and asked, "You think so?" she looked back at the tree and touched it affectionately, despite it having been the instrument of her entrapment, "I think it's nice to have something that will listen to you talk when there's no one else around to talk to."

He was surprised at her reaction. Kagome usually just yelled at him for being insensitive. In fact, that's what most people did, and this girl had every right to with everything that had happened to her, but she simply turned a blind eye to it. "It's still stupid," he repeated, curious about this newcomer's temperament.

Seika just hummed to herself and sat down on the roots, resting her back against the tree. She breathed in the crisp morning air and sighed. "I would always complain to my grandma that there were never enough trees in Japan anymore. It's ironic that I'm stuck in a place that has nothing but trees now. In retrospect, it's probably better for me that I'm here now. I just wish I had the chance to actually say goodbye to my family. I feel like I've been abandoned the way things turned out."

"Who are you talking to?" he snapped, irritated that she just assumed he would want to listen to her talk about her problems.

She shrugged, not even gracing him with a glance, "Whoever will listen." Her voice was almost a whisper as she seemed to stare off into nothingness.

InuYasha grimaced. This girl was way too depressing for him to deal with. He wasn't good at handling women on a good day, let alone one that had just been ripped away from everything she used to know. The sooner Kagome or Sango got back, the better. Deciding it was better for his own health to get away from the down-hearted girl before he really screwed up, InuYasha headed back towards the village. A nagging voice in the back of his mind that sounded strangely like Kagome told him it was probably a terrible idea to leave the girl on her own, but his instinct of self-preservation kept him from turning back. At least until he reached the edge of the village and heard a piercing scream fill the air and he realized what a horrible decision that was.

* * *

A/N: I'M SO SORRY! I DIDN'T REALIZE HOW LONG IT WAS SINCE I POSTED THE FIRST CHAPTER! HERE'S THE NEW ONE! I MADE IT LONGER TO APOLOGIZE!

I really like this chapter because I feel like it kind of shows Seika's inner strength. The main purpose for this chapter was to really express her devastation by the whole ordeal but also how she almost refuses to just roll over and die because of it. (I think Seika is one of the most well rounded characters I've ever come up with and you guys will see why in later chapters.)

Sorry again for the extended wait for the new chapter. I'll try to update before another month and a half rolls by without me realizing it.

~Nox


	3. Chapter 3 - Finding Resolve

Instinct had InuYasha sprinting back the way he had come to find the girl strung high in the air by a rather large bird demon. "And what do you think you're doing, bird brain?" the hanyou yelled, brash as ever.

The bird screeched loudly from its perch in the tree, and with a horribly gnarled voice cried, "Find your own meal, half-breed!"

"NO!"Seika yelled as rising panic filled her chest. The branches of the Tree of Ages shook violently and the vines that had long grown along its trunk became snake-like as they slithered towards the petrified girl. The bird demon squawked noisily at the sudden shudder, squeezing the girl tighter in its talons. Then she was airborne with the creature, and if her lungs were not being crushed she would have screamed again.

InuYasha advanced towards the demon but by a flap of its large wings, he was thrown back as he leapt into the air. His comparably slighter weight made fighting against the gusts of wind a challenge. Seika squeezed her eyes shut and prayed for salvation.

Her eyes snapped open at the sudden spray of warm liquid. Vines from the Tree of Ages had reached into the sky and pierced the body of the bird, showering her in blood. Roaring in pain, the demon released its grip on her before retreating into the distance to nurse its wounds.

Any normal persons heart would drop into their stomach seeing the height Seika was left to fall from. Curling into a ball was the only thing she could think to do, and hope she would be dead before she felt the impact. InuYasha wasn't normal, however, easily leaping into the air to snatch her out of the sky.

Once she realized she was no longer facing death, she threw her arms around the half-demons neck, allowing herself a moment of comfort. InuYasha on the other hand, stiffened considerably at the sudden attack on his personal space. No one had ever been so forward with him in his life, especially so soon after meeting him. If it were Kagome hugging him like that, he would have dropped her on the ground for acting so strange and walked away. But with this girl who had already been through more than she could handle in the last twenty-four hours, he wasn't sure what to do. Uncertain what the best course of action was he stood there awkwardly until she let go of him and pull herself out of his arms. She was still shaking, he could tell, but she hid her terror well besides.

"Thank you," she muttered taking deep breaths to calm herself, though tears were in her eyes. She would have to get used to attacks like that after all, this was her home now.

InuYasha huffed and turned away from her, crossing his arms. "Stupid girl," he said shortly.

She sighed, knowing she should have followed him back to the village when he had left earlier. He was right, she was stupid. She should have known better than to think she could stay out in a place like this without consequences. She let her gaze fall to the ground as she continued to let her commonsense beat her up from the inside. "Oh no," Seika mumbled as she examined the red splotches that now stained her uniform.

"Now what?" the half demon grumbled, turning back to the girl and watching as she scrutinized her clothes. "Big deal," he huffed, ignoring the fact that her clothes were the only things she had with her that connected her to her own time. He headed off towards the village again, silently kicking himself for the filter he seemed to be born without. Why couldn't he keep his mouth shut around distraught women? He always ended up making an ass of himself.

Forcing herself to accept the loss, Seika followed InuYasha back to the village, making a mental note to ask Kaede for help finding something clean to wear. She had declined Kagome's offer for any of her things from her home, so she'd have to make do with what she could get in this time. If she was going to be living in this time for the rest of her life anyway, she might as well look the part.

"Child, what happened to ye?" Kaede gasped when the pair returned. She shuffled over the girl and began looking her over for wounds.

"Huh?" Seika mumbled, being pulled out from her daze, "Oh, I'm fine for the most part. My clothes are just ruined." She looked at her stained shirt again, sighing inwardly. "Could you help me find something clean to wear?"

The old woman patted the girls arm sympathetically, "I think we can find ye something suitable." Seika followed the priestess back to her hut and sat patiently while Kaede rummaged through old clothes she had put away for occasions such as this. She shuffled back into the room with a short, earth-green kimono with long bell sleeves and a deep blue obi. "This should fit ye nicely. It was a gift to my sister but she never wore it. What do ye think?"

Surprised by the simple sort of beauty that the garment possessed, Seika found herself smiling at the idea of being allowed to wear such a thing. She especially liked the subtle leaf pattern that adorned the fabric. "It's lovely, Kaede-sama. Thank you." She bowed slightly and accepted the clothing.

The aged woman called InuYasha into the hut and eased herself down in front of the small table. He begrudgingly walked into the little home crossing his arms defiantly. "Make yeself useful and show Seika the river. I'm sure she'd like to clean off before changing."

"Me?" The half-demon immediately became flustered, "Why can't you take her?" he cried.

Kaede frowned at him, "If ye hadn't noticed, it be difficult for me to get around these days. Elsewise she may be needing someone to watch out for her if other demons be lurking around."

Seika lowered her head slightly as she mumbled, "I'm sorry to be so much trouble to everyone." She held the gifted clothing to her chest in quiet despondence.

"Oh, child," Kaede sighed, patting the girls leg with a comforting hand, "Ye be no such thing." The elderly woman shot a disapproving look in InuYasha's direction, making it clear she blamed him for upsetting her.

"Fine! I'll take her," he huffed with irritation then stalked out of the hut, assuming the girl would follow him and not caring if she didn't. Grumbling the entire way, he lead her just outside the village to the small lake, closed off enough for bathing without much need to worry about prying eyes.

"Hurry up, I've got things to do!" InuYasha called as he made himself comfortable in a tree a short distance from the lake to give Seika some privacy.

The brunette mechanically shed her ruined clothes before diving into the water to wash her horrifying first demon attack from her body. Once she scrubbed the blood from her skin and hair, she let herself drift underwater and cry for the last time. She wasn't going to get the chance to leave this time period. This was no longer the past, but her present, and she couldn't despair over her predicament the rest of her life. All she could do was move forward, so she gave herself the opportunity to shed her tears for the last time and resolved to find some manner of peace in a time that was foreign to her.

* * *

**A/N:** So I think by now everyone can agree that I suck with deadlines and updating. I'm really sorry about it but I haven't been overly inspired to work on this story as of late. I've mostly been working on my drawings lately instead of writing. However, I couldn't help but be inspired today after the wonderful TaeBalla05 from deviant art posted the request I made to them for a cover picture. It's really gorgeous and I'll be posting it later once they send me the variations they made too so I can pick the best one to post.

I hope you enjoy this chapter, and don't worry, I intend to post another one either a little later tonight or tomorrow as an apology DX

~Nox


	4. Chapter 4 - Equilibrium

As she came to the water's surface and wiped the water from her face, she hardened her resolve to make the best of her bad situation. As she smoothed her long hair from her vision, she caught the sight of a head of black hair and blue eyes peering out from a bush at her.

With a seconds hesitation to gather her breath, Seika released an ear splitting scream, startling InuYasha so badly that he nearly fell from his tree. A moment later, he had launched himself in the direction Seika was facing, only to drag out his monk companion.

"Miroku, what the hell are you doing?" The hanyou yelled, then as a side note, "Not that I really need to ask."

The monk immediately began to defend himself, "InuYasha, it's not what you think. I merely saw a beautiful woman alone and worried for her safety. I was keeping watch for anyone that may try to take advantage of her."

"No, that's my job. You're one of the people taking advantage of her," InuYasha let go of his friend and crossed his arm, sparing a quick glance in Seika's direction to make sure she was fully clothed. "You're lucky Sango isn't around."

The monk laughed and scratched the back of his head, "That's very true."

"Who knows, though? She may hear about it some how," the monk squirmed uncomfortably under the threat. If there was ever one thing ingrained in his memory, it was that an angry demon slayer was never something you wanted directed at you.

Seika stepped carefully over to the two, hovering just behind InuYasha as she introduced herself. "Since no one is fighting I'm going to guess you're one of Kagome's friends, too. My name is Seika."

The monk immediately sidestepped InuYasha, who only rolled his eyes at the spectacle to come. "Yes, my name is Miroku." He took the girls hands in both of his as he continued, "Forgive me, I was simply raptured by your beauty, and it was my hope that you might bare my children." He gave her his sincerest look despite the scoff from InuYasha's direction.

Seika took a moment to make sure she heard him right before she instinctively tore a hand away and threw it across the man's face as hard as she could. "I just turned sixteen, you pervert! And I don't even know you!"

Even the half demon was surprised by her reaction; not so much by what was said as that was a near daily occurrence, but because it was the most energetic she had been since she first arrived. He couldn't help but snicker, then out right laugh when he heard a woman not too far off yelling for Miroku, surely having heard Seika yelling at him.

The monk shrunk behind the silver haired man as a livid brunette stormed up to them brandishing an over-sized boomerang. "I should have known you'd be here trying to catch a glimpse of some innocent woman!"

"Sorry about him," the woman sighed with a small smile. Though she looked nice enough, Seika had seen the dangerous side of her. The evidence sat against the wall throbbing on top of the monks head. "He does that to every pretty face that crosses his path. I'm Sango," she said, changing the subject, "This is Kirara," A small cat jumped up onto the table and sat proudly in front of the woman.

"I'm Seika," she replied, giving the small animal a scratch. Kirara mewled happily at the attention.

"You don't seem to be from around here," Sango hummed, looking the girl over, "Where are you from?"

Seika scratched the back of her head and glanced back at InuYasha who was watching her for her answer. After a moment of thought, she replied awkwardly, "I came from the same place Kagome does."

"Really?" Her eyebrows shot into her hairline, "We've never met one of Kagome's friends. Did you come through the Bone Eaters well, too?"

Kaede had mentioned something about a Bone Eaters well the night before, she remembered. And Kagome had said she used a well to come and go between eras. Seika shook her head, "I came through a tree in the forest."

"And fell right into me," InuYasha snapped from his and Miroku's gloomy corner of the hut.

With a huff, Seika growled back, "It's not like I expected it to happen. When people touch normal trees, their hand doesn't melt into it." She waved her hands around for emphasis.

Miroku sat up with an expression somewhere between shock and disbelief. "Not everyone," he muttered. Everyone turned a curious eye to the monk who had become strangely serious. "There's an abandoned shrine deep in a thick forest where a small group of women used to live. They were Chikyuu Majo*."

"Earth witches?" The strange woman shook her head again, "I don't understand."

The half-demon scoffed, "What's not to understand? They were witches, they controlled plants and stuff. End of story."

Miroku rolled his eyes at his lack of interest, "To over simplify it, yes, they controlled 'plants and stuff', but it was more than that." The monk went on to explain how the women would speak to trees to gain ancient wisdom and help crops grow in suffering villages. He also described their ability to call on the nature around them to aid them when in danger and that even the weakest among them made a formidable foe.

"That explained what happened earlier," Seika mumbled to herself. "I was attacked by this giant bird and these vines attacked it and made it let me go. Only I have no idea how I did it. Or how I got that tree to bring me here for that matter."

"What kind of tree was it?" Sango inquired only to smile apologetically once she saw the exasperated look come across the girls face.

"It was the Tree of Ages," InuYasha spouted with irritation when the girl came up short on the answer. He was getting tired of babysitting her and it was becoming increasingly obvious if to no one else but Seika.

"That would explain it then," Miroku nodded to himself, ignoring InuYasha's growing bad attitude. "Your latent abilities tapped into the link between the Tree of Ages in this time, and the one in your own and pulled you through to this era."

Seika groaned and rubbed her eyes before laying on the floor. "Hooray, more things that I hardly understand," she stared at the ceiling unhappily. She hated how confused she seemed to be all the time. She felt like a helpless child and it frustrated her to no end. And InuYasha's more or less constant grumbling about having hold her hand through everything wasn't helping things.

"Hey, I'm back!" Kagome's voice reached them before she did. She hesitated at the entrance of the hut, taking in Miroku with his lump and Seika lying on the floor, and immediately assumed what any of them would have. "Miroku, you already pulled a move on her?" She sighed, "Why am I surprised?" She set her heavy backpack on the ground beside InuYasha, ignoring how he almost instantly dove in to it looking for snacks, and took a seat at the table with the other two women. "Where are Shippo and Kaede?"

"In the fields gathering herbs," Sango replied.

Kagome nodded then turned her attention to Seika, "She was really happy to get a letter back from you."

The green eyed girl lifted herself up off the floor enough to thank her friend before returning to her place. At the curious pairs of eyes that seemed to linger on her she loudly huffed, "Can we please not talk about me anymore for a while?"

"Well, I guess we should tell you a bit about ourselves considering how much we already know about you," Sango agreed and took it upon herself to start off the explanations, "I'm a demon slayer. The last actually." And in those few words the entire atmosphere in the hut thickened. "A demon named Naraku destroyed my village and everyone in it. Ironically, he's the reason we're all together now."

Seika sat up immediately, suddenly feeling guilty for moping about her predicament when she realized the people around her had so much more to hurt over. Miroku spoke next with a solemn expression, "Naraku cursed my family," he held up his right hand wrapped with a guard and prayer beads, "I have a hole in this hand that grows little by little each year. It sucks up everything in its path and if I fail to kill Naraku in time, it will eventually swallow me whole."

"Shippo, he's a fox demon you'll meet later," Kagome hummed, "His family was wiped out by a pair of demons called the Thunder Brothers. He's an orphan now so he travels with us. I'm the reincarnation of a priestess named Kikyo. She took care of the evil human that created Naraku, Onigumo. She..." Kagome glanced at InuYasha as he angrily stormed out of the hut. She sighed then continued, "She and InuYasha were sort of together, and Naraku tricked them into killing each other to get the sacred jewel that has the power to make demons stronger. Kikyo pinned InuYasha to the Tree of Ages, thinking he was trying to steal the jewel to become a full demon, and then died, having the jewel burned with her body to get rid of it and make sure Naraku could never have it."

"If Naraku is after this sacred jewel and Kikyo had it burned with her body, what is he still after?" Seika asked

"The jewel," the priestess scratched her cheek sheepishly before continuing, "When I first came here, the jewel was ripped from my body by a demon that was in the Bone Eater's well and I, uh…I kind of broke it. So now we have to find all of the shards before Naraku does."

Seika dropped her eyes from Kagome to the table in shame. "I feel so petty now, given what all of you have been through. Is this why you've missed so much school, Kagome? Because you're looking for the jewel shards?" she asked, looking back up to her friend.

"Yeah," she sighed, "I hate lying to my friends, and I hate how much trouble Hojo always goes through to help me 'get well', but I can't really tell everyone I'm running back and forth from the feudal era fighting demons every day. I'll be committed."

Seika nodded in agreement, before a question surfaced in her mind, "Why did InuYasha storm off?"

Kagome sighed and looked down at her lap, "He's really sensitive about what happened to him and Kikyo, especially because a witch resurrected her and for a while she kept trying to kill either me or InuYasha, or both of us. I think what really gets to him is the fact that she's not really alive. She has to use the souls of the living to keep her own soul grounded to this world."

"InuYasha isn't a man that talks about his feelings," Miroku pointed out, "Frankly; I would have been surprised if he didn't leave like he did."

"Goodness," Kaede's elderly voice interjected as she entered the hut with a small child following close beside her with a full basket of herbs, "What's got InuYasha in such a mood this time?"

"We were filling Seika in about Naraku," Sango explained.

"Ah," the aged priestess nodded in understanding as she joined the other women. "That would do it."

"Hi, I'm Shippo!" The child said enthusiastically to the new comer, seemingly impervious to the dark mood in the hut. "You smell really nice, like Kagome always does."

Seika blushed slightly and discreetly sniffed her hair. "Thank you?" She replied awkwardly. "Um, I'm Seika and you have a tail…" The words spilled from her lips before she even had a chance to think about them.

The group around her laughed at her reaction. "Shippo is a fox demon, Seika," the demon slayer said with a good-natured chuckled.

"Oh," she blushed again and tried hiding it under her curtain of hair.

"Don't be embarrassed," Kagome smiled, "I said the same thing when I first saw him." The group chuckled at the similarities between their two otherworldly visitors.

Seika took a moment to take in the site of the people she had met within the last 48 hours, glad for the feeling of calm that settled in her heart finally. Looking on as the group interacted with one another, she was glad that she would be able to be a part of them given the loss she had to sustain to achieve it. Kagome was one of the few friends she had in her time. Pained as she was to leave her family behind, the gift of friendship closer than family that sat in front of her helped her bare the burden.

* * *

*****This translation is based of Google translate, so I can't be entirely certain of its accuracy.

**A/N: **How about that? Two chapters in less than a twelve hour time span? SHENANIGANS! Again, I'm really sorry about the delays. If it makes you guys feel any better, I've been working on this story more than I have my FFVII story :D

~Nox


	5. Chapter 5 - Concentration and Irritation

"So," Seika mused, "What's the plan then?"

"Well," Kagome hummed, "InuYasha will probably complain the entire time, but we'll probably stay here for another day so everyone can rest from their trip. After that we'll head off to try and find more jewel shards." A thought occurred to the priestess, "Are you sure you want to come with us, Seika? It's going to be really dangerous sometimes."

Seika shuddered, remembering her encounter with the crow demon. She shook her head and pushed the fear out of her mind, "I'll be fine. You're the only familiar face around here, I'm not about to stay here while you go off having adventures." Kagome smiled at her jeer, glad to see some of the girl she knew in school coming back. "I'll need some help learning how to fight though."

"I'd be more than happy to help," Sango offered, but Miroku was quick to step in.

"I don't think that's a good idea. Chikyuu Majo who haven't had proper training to control their abilities are extremely dangerous," the monk explained. "It's nothing against you, Seika, but you simply don't know your limits or strengths yet."

She nodded and sighed. "I have to try and hone my skills somehow though."

"Very true," he agreed, bringing his fist to his chin in thought. "Your latent abilities may be too great for us, but it would be more difficult to injure a demon. Perhaps we may be able to convince InuYasha to help you."

Seika scoffed and pouted with her cheek in her hand, "No way. He's been tolerable enough so far, but he doesn't like having to look after me. There's no way he'll go for it."

Kagome grinned darkly and crossed her arms as if she had just been issued a challenge, "You'd be surprised at what he might agree to."

"Hell no!" InuYasha yelled, "That's all I've been doing since she got here is babysit her! Why the hell should I have to let her attack me just because she doesn't know how to fight?"

Kagome was fuming, "She needs to be able to protect herself and you're the strongest in the group. Would you rather try and protect her every time a fight breaks out?"

"That's why she should just stay here. She'll just slow us down."

"InuYasha! You're telling me to just abandon her here?"

"What's the big deal?"

"I'm the only friend she has here! I am not going to just leave her alone!" InuYasha only crossed his arms and turned away from the furious priestess. Kagome, on the other hand, was not about to let him go that easily, "Osuwari!" She yelled, and the hanyou was immediately pulled face first into the ground by the necklace he wore. In a huff she stormed off to let Seika know InuYasha would be happy to help her, regardless of how much of a lie it was.

InuYasha growled in a slow burning fury as he stood in the middle of an empty field with Seika. Kagome wouldn't let him out of babysitting, yet again. Every time he had refused to help, Kagome had used her command on him. Seika, at least, seemed remorseful that he had to waste his time with her, because Kagome was anything but. "Let's get this over with," he grumbled at her after putting some distance between them.

To his intense aggravation, the 'training session' was lengthy and uneventful; spent mostly with InuYasha yelling at her and Seika getting frustrated to the point of throwing rocks at the hanyou. This continued for several days and it was clear to everyone in the group that the training was not going well by the pair's irritated silence on the subject. Kagome and Miroku had tried to help with stories of their own experiences as priestess and monk trying to unlock their own abilities. However, being told that the key was focus was not enough to allow her to suddenly start commanding trees to come to her aid. InuYasha had even tried the 'desperation' approach and chased her through the forest throwing well placed attacks at her in hopes her instinct of self-preservation would jar her abilities into command. Kagome had been furious when she found out, despite his insistence that he made sure he never hurt her.

The day the group made to leave the village (well behind schedule as InuYasha was want to point out), Seika lagged behind, sulking. "Hurry up, Seika!" Kagome called back to her, "We'll get separated if you get too far behind."

"Sorry," she muttered back but only just picked up her pace enough to keep up with the others. After a while, Sango slowed down to walk beside the downhearted girl. "Nothing I try works," she almost whined, and she hated herself for feeling so childish.

"You have to give it time," the demon-slayer hummed, "Remember that you just found out you can do these things. It'll take a while before you can will it to work." Sango sighed when the girl made no response. "If it makes you feel any better, from what Kagome told us, it took InuYasha quite a while before he could figure out how to use the Tetsusaiga."

"The what?"

Sango pointed at the half-demon's waist, "The sword he carries. It's called the Tetsusaiga and only a demon or half-demon who has the desire to protect someone can use it. Anyone else that tries to use it will only wield a tattered blade or be burned by its seal. It took InuYasha a long time before he learned that protecting someone was how he was able to use it to its full extent."

"Really?" Seika lowered her head in thought, "Do you think that might work for me, too? I mean having to protect someone?"

"I don't think that's the only key to it, but it may work," she smiled, glad to see the girl look a bit more hopeful.

"I don't think it's working!"

"I'm trying!" Seika yelled, frantically smacking the tree in front of her. "Come on, you stupid thing, move!"

"Maybe you aren't in enough danger yet," InuYasha mused as he chased after Shippo, swiping at him with his deadly claws.

"Seika!" The tike cried as he ran. It had been InuYasha's favorite training technique yet, and the best part was that it was Seika's idea, so Kagome couldn't even get mad at him for it. He was almost laughing he was having so much fun.

"Agh!" The witch cried and kicked the tree in frustration. She yelped in pain and dropped to the ground, holding her leg as tears sprang to her eyes.

Shippo was forgotten in the moment and InuYasha was at her side a second later. "What happened?" He asked, hopeful it was some sort of injury caused by her abilities. At least then there would've been some sort of progress.

"I kicked the tree," she choked, trying her hardest to keep the pain from her voice. Even the thought of trying to move her toes caused her pain.

"What'd you do that for, stupid?" He growled at her, swatting her hands away from her leg. Taking the appendage, he gently turned her foot this way and that, examining the damage. He carefully bent each of her toes, receiving a hiss in return each time. He sighed, "Nothings broken, at least. Stupid girl."

"What should we do?" Shippo asked from the witches side, all concern and worry.

InuYasha grumbled to himself a moment. "Go tell the others we'll be a bit longer." Without waiting for the fox tike's reply or asking Seika permission, he scooped her up like a child and carried her to the stream a short distance from the clearing.

"What are you doing?" She asked as he sat her at the edge of the stream. Despite his words, he was being uncommonly gentle with her, and for the life of her she couldn't think why.

"Shut up and put your foot in the water," he huffed then threw himself down next to her like a pouting child. "This stream runs from the mountain over there," he jabbed a thumb in the general direction of the closest mountain, "so it'll be cold enough to help keep the swelling in your foot down."

Seika gave the hanyou a skeptical look before dropping her foot in the water. She shivered, "It's freezing."

"Quit complaining," he snapped. His entire demeanor told her he'd rather be doing anything else, from the slouch he sat with to the bobbing of his leg as he waited impatiently and for the first time, it aggravated her.

Angry, Seika steeled herself for an argument, but instead decided to brood quietly, refusing to let him get the better of her. Instead, they sat in silence for a while before InuYasha huffed and threw his haori at her.

"What are you d-doing?" She stuttered, pulling the haphazardly thrown cloth from her head.

"You're shivering. Just put it on." He didn't even look at her as he said it. "It's going to get colder the closer we get to the mountain," he pointed out as she tugged her arms through the gaping sleeves of his haori and wrapped it close around her.

"I'll see if I can find anything warmer in the next village we pass through," she replied and buried her face in the collar. It smelled like him, earthy and lived in, but not dirty.

"Take your foot out." He examined her toes again, this time receiving only cringes.

"What are you doing?" She half yelled, startled when he began to massage her foot, none too gently at that.

"Shut up," he spat back again, ignoring her groans as he popped the bones in her foot.

"Would you quit telling me to shut up? And quit calling me stupid all the time!" She snapped. "I'm doing all I can to try and get these stupid powers to work and you know why? It's just to get you to stop yelling at me all the time. I know I'm weak and pathetic and I'm slowing you down, but I don't need you telling me that every damn day. Okay? Tch," Seika angrily rubbed at the frustrated tears that fell down her cheeks. "Dammit."

InuYasha's eye widening considerably, "Are...are you crying?" She turned her eyes away from him in a miserable attempt to hide the tears he already saw. He sighed to himself as he was immediately overcome with guilt. He admittedly had been a bit harsh with the trash talking but he had no idea how much it had gotten to her in the few weeks they had been training together. In hind sight, given the ordeals she had to deal with since arriving in the feudal era, he had somewhat rubbed salt into her wounds.

"I'm sorry."

Seika turned back to him but he was refusing to look at her. If he hadn't been acting so suspicious she would have thought she imagined his apology, but it was obvious by his behavior that she heard right. She sniffled and averted her eyes, "Just try not to be so mean all the time." For some reason (his tendencies to refuse to apologize for things, she imagined) it embarrassed her to hear him say sorry for once.

He couldn't understand her; she was so unlike Kagome in so many ways that it was hard to believe they were such good friends. "You aren't like Kagome at all," InuYasha muttered, giving her a look like she made his head hurt.

"Did you expect me to be exactly like her?" She scoffed. "You aren't like Miroku, or Sango, or Shippo. Why would you think I would be like Kagome? She's told me you've been to our time, so I know you can't think we're all the same there."

"Her other friends act just like she does," He defended.

"Hm," Seika took a moment to think, "Yeah, I suppose you're right. Sorry if I didn't meet your expectations."

"That's not-" He stopped when he saw the girl grin. She was joking with him.

"Does it disappoint you that I'm not like her?"

"What? No," he sputtered. The question completely caught him off guard. "Its...kind of nice, actually. Not getting yelled at all the time for what I say or do."

That surprised her, "Why would I yell at you for that? You're just being yourself. Granted some times you are a jerk, but you have a good heart in most things, I imagine." She couldn't help but smile when he tried to hide pink cheeks. "You could have very well given up on me days ago, but you keep helping me even though I still haven't gotten any better. You didn't have to do any more than help me back to camp when I hurt my foot, but you went through the trouble of doing all of this. And you certainly didn't have to lend me your haori, but you did. You may have a bad attitude most times, but that doesn't mean you aren't a good person. You're just a little rough around the edges is all."

They were quiet for a long time. Seika was content in the silence, but InuYasha was at a loss for words. He didn't care to trust her, as he was want to do with any new person he met, but the ease at which he had spoken to her bothered him, though he couldn't say why. After a while, he mumbled, "We should get back."

Seika nodded in agreement and handed back his haori, "Yeah. They might start worrying what happened." She refused to let him carry her back to camp, but did hold his arm for support as she limped. Though he never really gave her permission to do it, he didn't say anything against it either.

Kagome leapt to her feet as they broke through the trees to evaluate the damage. "You didn't have to hurt her, InuYasha!" She cried.

"Me?!" He yelled.

"I did it to myself, Kagome," Seika informed and hopped her way over to the fire and eagerly accepted the cooked fish she was offered. "I'm just losing patience with the training is all."

Sango laid a hand on her shoulder and smiled sympathetically, "You'll get there eventually. Working yourself into frustration wont help anything."

"I know," She sighed.

"We're takin' a break anyway," InuYasha spouted, "You're even more useless than normal now." Kagome looked ready to gripe some more, but Seika only gave him a small knowing smile and nodded. It dawned on him, in that moment, that she could see through him almost completely. How would he guard himself now?

* * *

**A/N:** Would you look at that: an update in less than 30 days! Let me know what you guys think of the story so far. Getting feedback helps me stay inspired to work on it.

~Nox


End file.
